Countless individuals all over the world seek to improve their physical appearance through the use of personal care products, such as cosmetics and skin care treatments. Recognizing the market for such products, manufacturers have provided an extremely large range of products from which consumers may choose. It thus comes as no surprise that the individual consumer finds it difficult to determine what type of products to apply.
One of the issues central to the selection of many personal care products is color. In this regard, it is not only the color of the product that may be important, but the color or tone of the individual's skin as well and how well the color of the product matches the color or tone of the skin. The individual's perception of the color of the product and of his or her own skin may be influenced by factors such as the lighting available at the time the selection is made, which may be different than the lighting existing under conditions of normal use. The individual may attempt to compensate for the varying conditions by attempting to imagine how a product might look when applied in use, but this may make an already subjective process even more prone to inconsistency.
One way in which retailers attempt to assist the individual consumer is by having beauty consultants available at their cosmetics counters. These consultants are then charged with assisting customers in identifying personal care products aimed at improving the customer's appearance. Because of their training and/or experience, they may be able to provide a more consistent result than if the individual was to attempt to make his or her selections unassisted.
However, such consultations remain subjective. The same customer going to two different consultants may receive two different recommendations. Consultation results can vary from visit to visit, even with the same counselor and client. In addition, employment of beauty consultants increases the cost of the personal care products, and many customers do not want to be inconvenienced by approaching a beauty consultant.